There was an hour till dinner and Nory couldn’t wait to move. She tapped Elliott on the shoulder. “Want to explore?”

“Of course!”

They told Ms. Starr they’d be at the cafeteria for dinner and stepped outside into a bright, autumn-scented afternoon. In Dragon Haven, there were no paved roads. The fallen leaves crunched beneath their feet.

“I wonder when we’ll see dragons,” said Elliott. “I’m kind of scared, to tell you the truth.”

“Why?”

“Teeth, fangs, claws. Teeth, fire breath, enormous jaws. Oh, and also teeth,” said Elliott. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“I’m not scared,” said Nory. “I’m kind of thrilled.”

They started on a trail through the woods. The trees stretched taller and the shadows loomed darker.

Thud!

Hisssss.

“Um, what was that?” Elliott asked.

“I don’t know,” said Nory.

“Do you think it was a dragon?”

“No.”

“But this is Dragon Haven!”

“Yeah, but they won’t be loose in the forest, Elliott. Mo said the paths were safe for students to walk on.”

“Then do you think it’s a fox?”

“Foxes don’t hiss.”

“A snake?”

“Maybe.”

“Should I be ready to freeze it?”

Nory nodded. “Be ready to freeze it.”

Hisss! The sound came again.

Hisssssssss!

And then …

Meow! Mrwowow? Meow!

Nory and Elliott stepped into a clearing. There were seven kittens, hissing and meowing at each other. Plus two yarnballs, and a nice little kittenball court, with wooden railings around a green field and a tower with a basket in the center. They had stumbled onto a kittenball game.

Kittenball was a sport Nory played at Dunwiddle. It was for Fluxers, and when they played it, they fluxed into kittens. The goal was to work together to pass and climb your yarnball up the tower and drop it in the basket. But meanwhile, the opposing team tries to stop you from scoring by unspooling your yarn.

Nory loved kittenball, but she knew the kittens here had to be the strangers from the other school.

As she and Elliot approached, the kittens stopped meowing and tail-whacking. They turned up their cute little faces to look at the new arrivals.

“Cool!” said Elliott, squatting down on his heels to talk to them. “Are you playing kittenball?” He laughed awkwardly. “Um, duh. Of course you’re playing kittenball. I love kittenball! I’m Elliott, and this is Nory. I’m a—well, I’m not a Fluxer. Heh heh. But Nory is. Can she play with you? It looks like you need an extra kitten. What’s the score? Who’s on the blue team? Did I say I’m Elliott? Have you seen any dragons yet? Do you know if there are any dragons in the woods? Like, running loose? Oh, sorry. I guess I’m interrupting your scrimmage. Sorry.”

The kittens didn’t answer … because they were kittens. They couldn’t talk until they switched back to human form.

Nory felt embarrassed that Elliott was babbling, but she did kind of want to play. She had been working with a fluxing tutor and taking kittenball classes since the start of the school year. She was able to hold the shape of an ordinary black kitten for fifteen or twenty minutes before things started to get unusual. And her tail-whacking was getting pretty strong.

One of the kittens—a calico—popped back into human form. She straightened up, pushed her sweaty bangs off her forehead, and grinned.

“I’m Mitali,” she said. She had bright eyes, a big smile, light brown skin, and dark brown hair cut in a swingy bob. She was wearing green sweats and a big white T-shirt. Nory could tell from her ragged cuticles that she bit her fingernails.

“Hi,” Nory said. “I’m Nory. Which you already know, because Elliott told you.”

“Wanna join?” Mitali asked. “We really could use an eighth.”

Nory liked the girl immediately, but she still felt awkward. Was Mitali the Fluxer who could do elephant? It seemed likely. Calico was the hardest of all kitten colors to master, so she was obviously a strong Fluxer.

“I can referee,” Elliott volunteered.

Mitali swept her hand toward her friends. There were three black kittens, a butterscotch, a fluffy white, and a gray tabby. “That’s Fuchsia, Suki, Theresa-May, Anemone, Yarrow, and Fred. Black cats with the white yarnball and patterned cats with the blue. You in for the black cat team?”

Nory hesitated. She was pretty sure she could hold her kitten shape, but she felt strange with these new kids. Should she say right away that her magic was upside down? And Elliott’s? Or was there no need to talk about it unless it came up?

“Come on, we won’t bite,” Mitali said. “Except for Fuchsia.” She shot Fuchsia a teasing look. “The black kittens really do need a fourth.”

With a shiver and jolt, Nory fluxed before she could change her mind. Mitali fluxed back into a calico, and the game was on! Kitten-Nory pounced and caught the blue yarn between her paws. The white fluffy one—Kitten-Fuchsia—bounded after her and tried to wrestle the ball away.

Kitten-Mitali snagged the loose end of the white yarn and pulled, unraveling almost the whole thing. No! Kitten-Nory bit down on the snippet of white yarn. Kitten-Mitali yanked it free, and was about to tail-whack it so it unrolled toward Kitten-Fuchsia, but Kitten-Nory pounced onto what was left of the white yarn ball and rolled over and over, wrapping the yarn around her furry belly. It was a move called a Yaggle, and Nory’s coach had taught it to her just the previous week.

Kitten-Mitali was not happy about the Yaggle. She mewed in frustration, and a short burst of fire came out of her kitten mouth.

What?!

A kitten who breathed fire?

Pop!

Girl-Nory found herself sitting on her bottom in the field. She was so astonished, she’d fluxed back into human form.

She had never seen a kitten breathe fire. She herself breathed fire when she mixed up kitten and dragon to become a dritten, but then she had wings and fangs and claws. The fire and the fangs and the wings came from the dragon. What Mitali had done was just a regular kitten with fire breath.

Did that mean Mitali’s magic was upside down?

Mitali fluxed back. So did Fuchsia, who revealed herself to be tall and redheaded, with super-pale skin and a hawklike face. “Mitali!” she scolded. “No flaring. We all agreed.”

“It’s not against the kittenball rules!” Mitali argued.

“That’s because kittenball is for Fluxers,” snapped Fuchsia. “They didn’t think to put it in the rules. You practically singed my fur off. There’s not even a fire extinguisher out here.” She rolled her eyes and stalked off.

Three of the other kittens immediately jumped the railing that surrounded the kittenball court and followed Fuchsia down the path. The other two kittens looked hesitant, as if they weren’t sure what to do. Then they sat down and washed their paws with their tongues, pretending not to notice any awkwardness.

“You can tell us,” said Nory. “Are you upside down?”

“I’m sorry,” Mitali said, blushing. “Fuchsia’s right. I’m very competitive and I flare when the going gets tough.” She looked straight at Nory. “You’re a good kittenballer.”

“Thanks,” said Nory. “But how did you do that fire?”

Mitali smiled. “I’m not upside down. I’m a double talent. Flare plus Fluxer.”

“Oh,” Nory said, feeling her heart drop. “That’s cool.”

“You do a really cute kitten,” Mitali said generously. “I liked how you did your whiskers.”

“You should show her,” said Elliott.

“Show me what?” asked Mitali.

“Nory should show you her fire-breathing.”

“Are you a double talent, too?” Mitali looked excited.

“I have upside-down magic,” Nory said quickly. “We all do—all of us who are here from my school. I’m an Upside-Down Fluxer.”

“Oh.” Mitali looked over at the two kittens, who were now chasing their tails and pretending not to listen. “I never met anyone with upside-down magic before. Is it hard?”

“Sometimes,” said Nory.

“Sometimes it’s just super awkward,” said Elliott. “And it’s harder for some people than for others. Depending on their magic and how it works, and their family’s attitudes, and whether other kids give them a hard time …” He trailed off.

“Other times it’s awesome,” said Nory. “Or surprising. Or … magical, I guess.”

Mitali nodded. Nory realized this was exactly what she’d been worried about—kids looking at her and asking about her upside-down magic. But Mitali’s face was so sweet that Nory relaxed.

“Can I see?” said Mitali. “The upside-down fluxing? And the fire-breathing?”

“Show her,” said Elliott.

So Nory fluxed. First back into a kitten, and then pop-pop-pop! Her wings sprouted, her teeth felt large in her mouth, and her claws became scaly and long. She flapped her wings and swooped around, zipping across the clearing. She dive-bombed the two remaining kittens, who were staring up at her. Then she perched on a low branch and breathed out a puff of fire.

“Whoa!” Mitali’s eyes were huge.

Nory leapt off the branch, landing easily, the way kittens do. Then she popped back into her girl shape. “Yeah,” she said proudly. “Not a double talent, but I do breathe fire!”

“I’ll say!” Mitali exclaimed. “What was that thing?”

“A dritten. Half dragon, half kitten.”

“Nory. Seriously. That is the most awesome fluxing I have ever seen in my entire life.” Mitali turned to the two kittens. “That was awesome, right?” The two kittens looked very, very nervous, but they nodded.

Nory glowed. She enjoyed her upside-down magic much more now than she used to. She could manage it better, and some animal forms were quite fun. She also knew she wielded a big amount of power. But the different magic could still be really embarrassing. Koat-Nory had eaten Aunt Margo’s bedspread just last week.

“You can still play two against two,” said Elliott, reaching down into the kittenball court to pick up the blue yarnball and roll it back together. “There’s half an hour left before dinner.”

Mitali turned to the remaining kittens. “Anemone? Fred? You in?”

The kittens ran to the center of the court. Mitali fluxed. Nory fluxed. Elliott refereed. The game was back on.